Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 April 1877 — USEFUL AND SUGGESTIVE. [ARTICLE]

USEFUL AND SUGGESTIVE.

Melons and encumbers can be planted in square pieces of thick sod, and placed in some warm place in the window or by the stove, and thus get a good start by the time there is no danger of frost. Then the sod can be set in the ground, and the aod rotting will give the plants a good start. And watermelons are worth more in July than September.— lowa State Register. “ What is the reason we cannot raise as large strawberries as we read of,” is a common inquiry. The reason is very simple. Strawberries will grow large anywhere and for anyone if they can have a deeply-worked ana very rich bed and plenty of water. The richest garden is not rich enough for these great strawberries. The sou must be, a third of it, rotten manure, down a foot deep—then one may expect fine berries.—Detroit Tribune. Cottage Pudding.— One egg, two and a half spoonfuls melted butter, one cup of sugar, all beaten to a cream. Then add one cup of milk, in which is dissolved one teaspoonful of soda; into this stir one full pint of flour, in which is well mixed two teaspoonfnls of cream-tartar; flavor with lemon or nutmeg; hake half an hour; eat with sauce, made of one cup of sugar, one large spoonful of butter, one pint of boiling water; flavor with lemon and thicken with one teaspoonful of flour. Boil a few moments. “The thing is certain,” said the Deacon, “we shall have to plant small potatoes this year.j The spring of 1875 potatoes were scarce and high, and a great many Binall potatoes were planted—some not larger than marbles—yet we never had such a great potato crop. The next spring potatoes were not worth marketing, and we planted the best and largest —and never bad a worse crop. And so it is evident that the character of the season has more to do with the result than the size of of the seed.”— American Agriculturist.

Dr. Henry Pigeon writes to the London Lancet as follows: “The marvelous success which has attended my treatment of scarlet fever by sulphur induces me to let mymeaical brethren know of my plan, so that they may be able to supply the same remedy without delay. All the cases in which I used it were very well marked, and the epidermis on the arms in each case came away like the skin of a snake. The following is the exact treatment followed in each case: Thoroughly anoint the patient twice daily with sulphur ointment; give five to ten grains of sulphur in a little jam three times a day. Sufficient sulphur was burned, twice daily (on coals on a shovel), to fill the room with the fumes, and, of course, was thoroughly inhaled l>y the patient.” A correspondent of the New York Tribune gives the following recipe for making a good cement: A good cement for mending almost anything may be made by mixing together litharge and glycerine to the consistency of thick cream or fresh putty. This cement is useful for mending stone jars or any other coarse earthenware, stopping leaks in seams of tinpans or wash boners, cracks and holes in iron kettles, etc. I have filled holes an inch in diameter in kettles and used the same for years in boiling water and feed. It may also be used to fasten on lamp tops, to tighten loose nuts, to secure loose bolts whose nuts are lost, tighten loose joints of wood or iron, loose boxes in wagon-hubs, and in a great many others. Ii all cases the article mended should not be used till the cement has hardened, which will require from one day to a week, according to the quantity used. This cement will resist the action of water hot or cold, acids, and almost any degree of heat. 1